In industrial environments, it is commonly desirable to be able to insert a product, usable in a machine, into that machine without the user or operator of the machine coming into direct contact with the product. This is particularly true when the product is caustic or corrosive, or when it would otherwise be detrimental for the user or operator to come into direct contact with product.
This is particularly true in industrial laundry or washing environments where it is common for detergents and other wash aids, such as rinse aids, to be replenished in washing equipment.
Many detergents products are distributed in solid form and are dissolved in use in the machine into which the solid detergent product is utilized. Such dissolvable solid products, of which detergent is just one example, are commonly distributed in containers.
A thermoformed blister pack or a package with a lid could be used to distribute dissolvable solid detergents. This would typically require the user to remove the back or lid from the package and drop the solid detergent block into the machine utilizing the detergent. Unfortunately, this technique would expose the user of the machine to direct contact with the solid detergent block which is not desirable.
One solid dissolvable detergent block has been distributed in a shrink wrapped plastic film. Small pin holes in the film allow the evacuation of otherwise trapped air as the film shrinks to conform to the shaped of the detergent block as the detergent block is packaged. Unfortunately, these same pin holes allow moisture from the atmosphere to enter the package. The addition of moisture to a detergent block package causes the detergent block package to swell around each of the pinholes resulting in an unsightly product.
Plastic, blow molded bottles have also been used as dispensers for this type of material but such plastic, blow molded bottles also suffer from many of the disadvantages of the other packages discussed.